Allowing 15 & 16 year olds in bars is nuts

Posted
Thursday, January 12, 2012 1:00 pm

Lonnie Barham

TEENS IN BARS: Why in the world does Rhode Island allow teenagers under the age of 18 to frequent drinking establishments? It is even questionable why we should allow those 18-21 to enter such places, but, at least, that can be justified by the fact these youngsters can vote and can die for their country. But allowing 15 and 16 year olds in bars is nuts! Of course these kids will find a way to drink when those around them are getting into the spirit. RI is a national anomaly in this regard, not to mention a national embarrassment, and should immediately change its liquor laws to keep impressionable, immature children out of bars. We don’t want to disallow children to go to restaurants that serve drinks, but if more than 50% of an establishment’s income is derived from the sale of alcohol, then it is a bar and should be totally off limits to those under the age of 18. Our General Assembly is back in session. Call your representative and demand a change to this dangerous law!

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: Better known as Obamacare, the new, national health care law that forces healthy young Americans to buy insurance against their will, was officially dubbed the Affordable Care Act. A bigger misnomer was never foisted on the American people! Contrary to making healthcare more affordable, countless experts and federal agencies say the act will increase the cost of health care substantially. The Kaiser Family Foundation found health care costs for the average family rose $1,300 in 2011, three times faster than before Obamacare. The Congressional Budget Office says employer-provided health plans will rise from the current average cost of $15,000 per year to $20,000 per year by 2016 because of Obamacarre, and that families who pay for their own health insurance will pay $2,100 per year more in 2016. So, what exactly makes Obamacare more "affordable" as the Affordable Care Act suggests? Absolutely nothing!

POLITICS & FREE SPEECH: Thumbs up to the RI Press Association and the Warwick Beacon as they fight a ridiculous and unconstitutional state law that bars publication of ads bearing the photos and names of people without their consent. Thumbs down to Warwick City Council President Bruce Place for initiating the whole mess when he objected to his picture and name in an ad run by the "Car Tax Revolt" group. Only politicians who are ashamed of their actions are afraid for those actions to be publicized. If you can't be proud of your positions on issues, then don't take them. Trying to hide behind an archaic law that is unconstitutional on it's face is the worst form of cowardly politics.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS: President Obama seeks to negotiate with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents in the neutral location of Qatar. President Bush kicked the governing Taliban out of Afghanistan because they supported al-Qaida training camps. Obama will now negotiate their return. Let's all hope Obama remembers how the Taliban treated women - more harshly than any culture on Earth! Under Taliban rule, women were somewhere between chattel and slaves - objects to be raped, at will, beaten with impunity, sold into prostitution, and considered less than human. Surely, all the American blood spilled in Afghanistan will not result in these monsters returning to govern - especially not with the support of our government.

CIA & PENTAGON FAIL: Based on Information obtained by the New York Times, it appears the CIA and Pentagon are bending over backwards to assist Hollywood produce a movie about the Special Forces raid that killed Osama bin Ladin. Unfortunately, they allowed producers without security clearances to access top secret information about the raid. The White House tap danced around the issue by saying only that it had not released the classified information. Whoever released this information committed a serious crime! It is unlikely the CIA or Pentagon would have taken such action without approval from the highest level of the Obama administration. Perhaps, Obama thinks release of such a movie just before the November election will remind voters the al-Qaida leader was killed on Obama's watch.

HOMELESSNESS: Good news from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homelessness in America declined in 2011 over it's 2010 level. It decreased by a whopping 12% among homeless veterans. RI housing experts say homelessness here declined even more a 16.5% drop from the year before. What does this tell us? That some, albeit very little, of the billions taxpayers shelled out in stimulus dollars and social service funding is bearing fruit.